


Perk of the Job

by spinninginfinity



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 07:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/684444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinninginfinity/pseuds/spinninginfinity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shortly after her promotion to chief of staff, CJ gets a visitor from the NSC. </p>
<p>
  <i>‘It turns out this is a club I'm part of now.’</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perk of the Job

**Author's Note:**

> For [Oliver](http://dannytripped.tumblr.com). Happy birthday!

CJ’s gotten good at keeping secrets. She practiced as press secretary, became defiantly adept at picking and choosing what to tell the press corps after the India-Pakistan debacle, and now as chief of staff the secret-keeping has picked up, with phrases like “It’s best if this stays between us” and “You understand the need for discretion here” and “No one can know about this” a part of her everyday vocabulary.

She gives it three hours before deciding she can’t keep this one.

‘Hey,’ Donna greets her as she turns the corner into Josh’s bullpen.

‘Hey,’ she says. ‘How’s being out of the chair?’

‘Well, the crutches do less damage when I accidentally hit people with them,’ Donna replies, pulling a file toward her. ‘Though as Josh’s boss, can you order him to learn how to use the intercom? Running in and out of there every five minutes isn’t as easy with only one functional leg.’

CJ grins. ‘I’ll do my best, but no promises.’

‘You want me to get him for you?’ Donna asks, turning a page of the file. They’ve been almost fine, she and CJ, since she came back from Germany, but she won’t meet CJ’s eye when she talks about Josh anymore.

CJ hesitates. ‘You know, I’m sure he’s busy. It can wait.’

Donna does look at her then. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah,’ CJ says. ‘I’m fine. Totally…’ She waves her hands. ‘Honestly, if Josh is busy, don’t worry about it.’

‘He’s been on the phone with Congressman Whelan for the past forty minutes; I think it’s important that you get in there before it gets messy.’

‘Forty minutes and it hasn’t got messy yet?’ she asks, raising her eyebrows. ‘I’m impressed.’

Donna smiles. ‘You should just go in. And tell him to stop leaning back on that chair; he’s going to injure himself.’

CJ thinks about saying something to her, even if it’s just _let’s go for coffee, let’s talk like we used to_ , and then can’t find the words. ‘Thank you.’

‘Yeah!’ Josh yells when she knocks on his door. ‘Congressman, would you just listen to me for one second,’ he’s saying into the phone as she goes in. His chair is indeed balanced precariously on its two back legs. ‘Congressman, that’s not what we’re—that’s _insane_!’ He catches CJ’s look. ‘Can you call me back in five? Thanks.’ He slams down the phone. ‘Bastard. What’s up?’

‘Maybe questioning the mental health of our good friends on the Hill isn’t the best way to win their votes?’ CJ suggests lightly.

‘Yeah, well, pandering to them sure hasn’t helped,’ Josh mutters.

‘Donna says to stop leaning back on your chair.’

‘She’s—’ He raises his voice. ‘You’re enlisting other people in your bid to control my life now?’

‘ _Save_ your life,’ Donna corrects from the bullpen. ‘And don’t shout!’

‘Close the door,’ Josh says to CJ.

CJ does so and sits down. ‘She also thinks it’d be helpful if you’d learn to use the intercom.’

‘Her physical therapist said to exercise her good leg,’ he says defensively. ‘If she can watch out for my health, I can watch out for hers.’ He leans a little further back in his chair and almost overbalances, throwing his palm flat against the wall behind him. ‘Whoa. I’m okay. Don’t tell her that just happened.’ He sets all four legs back on the ground. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘Oh.’ CJ pulls a face. ‘It’s nothing, really.’

He leans forward. ‘CJ, what’s wrong?’

‘Nothing, just, uh…’ She reaches into her breast pocket and pulls out the card that’s been burning a hole there all morning, putting it on his desk. ‘It turns out this is a club I'm part of now.’

Josh stares at it for a long moment. ‘Oh,’ he whispers.

‘And it really sucks,’ she adds, when he fails to say anything else.

‘No!’ He inflects an impressive amount of joviality into his voice. ‘C’mon, you get your own bunker space? They probably have tennis courts down there, room service, the works. You’ll have a blast.’

‘Josh.’

‘Yeah,’ he says, smile fading. ‘It sucks. Some perk, huh?’ He rests his chin in his hand and meets her eye. ‘When did they give it to you?’

‘This morning. I hadn’t thought about it, you know, since you…’ She trails off. ‘I’d planned to have lunch with Toby and I thought I was going to have to cancel that when the NSC guy called to schedule the meeting yesterday, but it turns out it only takes them a couple of minutes to tell you that if North Korea launches a missile at the US, they want to save you but not the friend you’re about to sit down and share a couple of soft pretzels with.’

Josh reaches for the card, mouthing a couple of the phrases as he reads. ‘Wow. They’re—’ He blows out a breath, searching for the word, ‘—thorough, huh?’

There’s a silence.

‘I need you to tell me how to do it,’ she says, finally. ‘I need you to say something that’s going to make carrying that thing around with me a little easier.’

He shakes his head, putting the card back down. ‘I can’t. I’m sorry.’

‘It’s always going to feel so…?’ She gestures, hoping he’ll get it.

‘I wouldn’t know,’ he says. ‘I, uh.’ He scratches at the back of his head. ‘Look, you know you don’t have to keep it, right? I… didn’t keep mine.’

She’s not expecting to hear it, but at the same time she’s not a bit surprised. ‘An NSC guy handed you a card with instructions for saving yourself in the event of a nuclear attack and you said “No thanks”?’

‘Yeah.’ He flushes. ‘That’s not—there’s no judgment, by the way, if you want to hold onto it.’

‘How would you know if I did?’ she asks sadly.

His mouth quirks up. ‘True.’ He leans his head to one side like he’s trying to work a crick out of his neck. ‘Besides they might not let you give it back. You’re chief of staff; I’m just a lowly deputy.’

‘Can I get you on record saying that?’

‘Not a chance.’

CJ grins and looks at her watch. ‘I’m meant to be in a meeting… two minutes ago.’

‘Whelan’s going to call me back in about thirty seconds.’

‘We should go to work.’ She tucks the card back into her pocket and heads for the door, then turns back to face him. ‘Thanks.’

‘I didn’t do anything.’ 

‘Josh.’

‘You’re welcome,’ he says. He’s silent for a second, watching her, and then moves his chair back to the lethal-looking position it was in earlier. She knows neither of them will bring this up again. ‘Soft pretzels?’

‘From Penny’s Perfect Pretzels. We get a sweet one and a savory one and split them both.’ She sighs at his blank look. ‘Penny’s Perfect Pretzels, Josh. It’s been literally around the corner for the past four years.’

‘Yeah, well.’ The chair hits the floor. ‘Penny needs to think of a less dumb name for her shop.’

‘So long as she keeps turning out those knots of buttery goodness, Penny can call her shop whatever she wants.’ She opens the door. ‘Hey, Donna? Josh is going to treat you to a pretzel.’

Donna lights up. ‘From Penny’s?’

CJ leaves them to figure out pretzel particulars (‘It’s got to be cinnamon sugar with the dark chocolate sauce, okay, not the milk chocolate, or it’s too sweet; it gets overpowering. The flavors have to complement each other properly.’ ‘Hold up there, Julia Child; can we talk first about how you never told me this place exists?’) and goes back to her office.

‘Margaret,’ she says, ‘Can you get me a copy of my incoming calls from yesterday? My 10am left something I need to give back.’

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Feedback is welcome and appreciated!


End file.
